Good topic, but one line doesn't do enough justice. I want to know why people chose who they did. So forgive the length of my reply. 1) Personally, I'd have

Good topic, but one line doesn't do enough justice. I want to know why people chose who they did. So forgive the length of my reply. 1) Personally, I'd have to say Matthew Halfant. I worked for him at VM Labs around y2k. Apart from his prodigious mathematical ability, he was a collaborator with Abelson and Sussman (of SICP fame) back in the 80s. More importantly he was a very kind mentor to me, and a great teacher. I still recall at my interview how he remarked it was nice to have a 'young fellow such as myself come aboard because I could teach them a thing or two.' Yeah, right! His willingness to hire me is what brought me to Silicon Valley. I only wish I had asked him more about Lisp :) 2) I don't know Woz personally, but he's awesome because he achieved the pinnacle of 'ultimate engineer' through intense dedication to his craft, and also (and equally importantly) by retaining a playful, childlike attitude throughout his career.